I do not have to prove why someone else has issues, only why the hypothesis put forth is wrong and cannot possibly be true.
I'm not trying to prove what it is, I just proving what it is not.
That way I scratch off one issue as not a cause and not waste the time looking there for a solution. I can also prove PO4 excess does not cause algae, but that does not say what does cause algae.
After you are able to confidently rule out each possible cause, step by step, you often are left with one or two hypothesis that you cannot rule out.
Often, those are the "causes", until you are able to disprove them and find out some alternative cause.
This plant has a very long history in the hobby.
I've seen the curly stunted tips in other folk's tanks.
I have no "special conditions", magic water etc..........even if I did, there's some other limiting condition if your tank if the high NO3/PO4 in mine does not stunt the plant. You cannot argue or ignore that point.
No one can solve every possible issue for every person's tank on the web.
But we can rule things out by testing them.
In order to test anything with plants, you must provide non limiting conditions for the other independent parameters and then vary the dependent parameters. This is basic plant science if you want to test nutrients limiting/ inhibiting excess.
If you want pickier plants at even higher nutrient levels:
This was a weed farm.
EI dosing as well.
I'm not saying folks are not having troubles with this plant, or any plant for that matter....... merely because I can grow it at high NO3/PO4 conditions.
I'm just saying that at high PO4/NO3, that cannot be the direct cause for this plant and for this expression of growth(or lack thereof).
That's what a test is.
I do not think you have the concept to set up the test.
1.You make a hypothesis
2. You set a test that reasonably can
disprove that hypothesis.
3. you do the test and see. You do it again, 5-6 times perhaps.
4. You do the test on
purpose, not just happenchance observations as you try to improve the growth of your plants.
5. You set up non limiting conditions
6. Make sure things like basic aquarium keeping are addressed, good flow/current, clean filters, heater,
7.
Stable acclimated growth before the test starts..........this one is hard for anyone suffering from poor growth, but using a stunted plant to test anything is a bad idea..............
#7 is part of the problem.
You cannot solve much if you cannot grow the plant to start with well.
Even though I can grow it, the person having troubles seems to think I must be wrong in their frustration.
However, they are not thinking clearly.
Neither of which is my fault nor has a hill of beans to do with me
If they really want to learn, then they should use a good method to prove things to themselves and not just believe everything they or others think.
That's why Science works so well.
It's a slower process, but you learn a lot more.
I have several test running now, I do not have the time to test every issue every person might have.
I might get some of this plant again and start growing it, but like the older claims of the past(PO4, K+ inhibitions, trace metal blocking etc etc), I already have a long time's worth of growing experience with this specific species, I have plenty of examples of the plant being grown well under EI.
And not just myself, but dozens of folks with this plant.
The other alternative is that we are all lying, but the conspiracy would be tough to pull off
IME, the folk's tanks that have resolved things and done well simply reduced the light and added more CO2. You can move the plant to rear of the tank etc. Many examples have the plant in the BACK GROUND. People think red plants require high light, this is not true and I can show this in tanks and in the field/natural systems.
If you reduce the NO3/PO4 to a limiting level, that will reduce growth rates. If you add more NO3/PO4, then CO2 can become limiting.
PO4 might be very limiting @ 50ppb, moderately limiting at 200ppb and totally non limiting at 2000ppb.
The degree of limitation is not black and white.
If you add in the rate of dosing such that PO4 is 200ppb, then you will have much less CO2 demand by the the plant vs 2000ppb.
Plants will still grow, perhaps even nicely, but at a reduced growth rate and at a much reduced CO2 demand.
However, this is confounded experiment if you do not have non limiting CO2 for each case of PO4 treatments(as well as other parameters). I think many have non limiting CO2 at say 200ppb, but not at 2000ppb PO4.
That's why they see the lower levels as adequate(at least one possible reason-there may be more/others) and "the cause", it's causing limitation and downregulation of CO2 demand when they add less and upregulation leading to limitation(temporary perhaps, causes some stunting) when they add more. It takes a few days for the plant to reorganize and respond, many aquarist are not that patient nor willing to risk more bad growth just to test things.
Regards,
Tom Barr